Buying airline tickets

[Happy prose]

I haven't traveled by air in 10 years or more. What's the best site for buying tickets? Any tips, such as how far in advance, time of day, etc? Do airlines charge for carry-on luggage? I'm planning for the end of March. Thanks!

[Deleted]

Where are you going?

[Happy prose]

Jan 16, 2017 12:19:18 GMT -5 @sroo4 said:

I like Kayak for price comparisons.  I think they also give you the expected trend of prices.   

Can you buy the tickets directly on Kayak?

[chiver78]

Kayak is good, just know that they don't include Southwest in their results (unless things have changed since I last used it last year..?). Airfarewatchdog.com is another good one for watching sales. 
as far as what day to book? most airlines have lower prices on Tuesdays typically. no idea why that is, but it is. 

most airlines charge for checked bags, not carry-on. I think a few of the really cheap bare-bones airlines charge for carry-on. 

hope that helps!

[Happy prose]

Jan 16, 2017 12:21:51 GMT -5 oped said:

Where are you going?

Hollywood Beach FL, leaving from Newark airport.

[chiver78]

Jan 16, 2017 12:21:58 GMT -5 Happy prose said:

Jan 16, 2017 12:19:18 GMT -5 @sroo4 said:

I like Kayak for price comparisons.  I think they also give you the expected trend of prices.   

Can you buy the tickets directly on Kayak?

no, it will redirect you to the airline's own website for booking. 

[Deleted]

Since it's quick, I just check all the sites.  Kayak, Priceline, expedia, travelocity...

[Gardening Grandma]

Second Kayak.  Once I find something I'm interested in, I go to the airline's website. Orices are usually the same, sometimes less, and I think it is advantageous to book directly.

For March travel, I'd be buying about 6 weeks out.

I am looking at fares for a Nov trip. First I decide on the route I want (I am willing to paymore for direct flights or fewer stops).  Once I find a fare, I simply watch it on a regular basis.  Sometimes, if they haven't sold a certain % of seats by a certain timeline, they will drop the fare.  In 2010, I was watching a fare to China. One day it dropped $200 pp. I immediateky booked it and the next day it was back up in price.

[Gardening Grandma]

For international, Cheapo air is also good

[Happy prose]

Great, thanks all! I'm waiting to hear back from my daughter to see what dates she can get off. How do you guys book your hotels? (I'm normally a cruiser) I've been looking on trip advisor. 

[Regis]

Try Google Flights, too.  Especially if you're a little flexible on dates.

[justme]

I actually like using Google flight search. They show you the cheapest for each day and give you tips like leave two days earlier to save $200 or it's $100 cheaper if you use this airport.

[Happy prose]

Jan 16, 2017 12:43:36 GMT -5 justme said:

I actually like using Google flight search. They show you the cheapest for each day and give you tips like leave two days earlier to save $200 or it's $100 cheaper if you use this airport.

Good tip! It says if I chnge my trip by one day, I save $98!

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Jan 16, 2017 12:21:58 GMT -5 Happy prose said:

Jan 16, 2017 12:19:18 GMT -5 @sroo4 said:

I like Kayak for price comparisons.  I think they also give you the expected trend of prices.   

Can you buy the tickets directly on Kayak?

No.

What I do is go onto Kayak and find out where the cheapest prices are.  Many times, they'll be a specific airline and then I'll just go directly to that site rather than wading through Kayak's recommendations.  It is not unheard of for flights to change prices between the time you see something on Kayak, and go to buy it at the site you are being directed to.  

About the amount of time you need pre-flight to book for cheapest bookings, it really does depend.  I booked our Africa trip in July and left less than a month later (I also booked the rest of the trip 10 days before we left).  When I made our flight reservations for Calgary, I got a phenomenal deal for direct flights in first class for $60 more than coach and those were booked 3 weeks before we left.  When we went to France last December, I got another very good deal flying out of Vancouver directly to Paris for about $200 less than the trending price in Sept for a Dec. trip.  So I really don't 'see' the 6 weeks being the best price guarantee, I find that I just watch the price for awhile and jump when it drops.

How do you guys book your hotels? (I'm normally a cruiser) I've been looking on trip advisor.

Depends upon what you want for your hotels.  If I am looking for a room for a night near an airport if we have a very early flight the next morning, I go with Hotwire.  Normally, all I'm looking for is a bed and shower and an airport shuttle.  I've gotten some very good deals here.  When I booked hotels for South Africa and Dubai, I booked from Expedia because I get points.  I used Trip Advisor for reviews though.  The Maldives resort I booked directly with the resort because Expedia did not give the same options as the resort itself did.  If I had booked the resort through Expedia, I'd have had to make a second reservation to make the speedboat connection directly through the resort.  There was really no difference in the cost between the resort and Expedia though.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Jan 16, 2017 12:59:00 GMT -5 @sroo4 said:

I like tripadvisor for hotels.   I usually look at the super negative reviews and determine if their complaints have merit.   For instance if someone rates it a 1 because they asked for some ridiculous thing and the hotel didn't do it for them I figure that it must be ok.   If I see one or more 1's because of bugs,  it's off the list. Sometimes it's just entertaining to read the reviews. 

I also will get an idea of what hotels I'm interested in, and then go direct to the hotel website to make sure it has the amenities that I'm looking for. 

This is really important because many times the complaint has absolutely no merit.  I remember one complaint about the hotel we stayed at in Paris where the reviewer panned the hotel because the tables in the breakfast room were small.  They were, but not unusable for a couple but you did need another table for a third person.  

[justme]

I like hotels.com because they do rewards - ten nights equals one free night and it you earn it cross brands vs brand specific rewards.

But if you have some time or are more flexible the mystery hotels on like priceline or hot wire cab save you a lot. You can often figure out what hotel it is with a bit of sleuthing.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

One word of caution for using expedia or any of the other discount hotel booking sites. In some cases you lose options when using those sites. For example; I know that booking any of the vegas hotels there seems to be a lot of complaints from expedia users about the lack of flexibility and options. I've used them without issue but it's something to keep in mind if you want something specific.

Losing options was why I booked our Maldives resort directly through the resort rather than Expedia.  I hated to lose that many points, but Expedia only offered half board options and I wanted the AI that the resort offered (and they were the same price).  And I could not book the speedboat through them, and I preferred to make our connection as seamless as possible.  It turned out to be a very smart decision, we got off our flight, went where they told us to, ticked our name off the list and went directly to the boat (which was pretty cool - there was a boat harbor at the airport!).  An hour later, we were at the resort.

As for flights, I don't like expedia and the other discounters, because I've seen things go wrong with the tickets and it's not easy to fix on the fly. I don't remember the details, but my sister ended up having to re-buy a return flight because her expedia purchased ticket got cancelled by mistake/error. That's not to say that the same thing can't happen when booking direct from the airline, but typically if only one entity is involved it's a lot easier to sort. My sister was getting stuck in that no-mans land between expedia and the airline and it wasn't looking promising to getting resolved in a timely matter. I think she got it straightened out later, but it took quite a few phone calls and several weeks.

Neither do I.  I was booked on a flight through Orbitz (I think) and the airline canceled the flight before I flew.  I got VERY limited options for rebooking the flight through Orbitz, so they refunded my money and I rebooked directly through the airline.  I only book through airlines now.

[swamp]

I check out kayak and then book directly with the airline. Kayak doesn't have southwest, allegiant, and other discount airlines, so I check those sites directly.

I've also used onetravel.

For hotels, I use hotels.com. I also do what sroo does, check the negative reviews to see what the complaint is.  

[souldoubt]

What The Walk said - I'd recommend using Expedia/Priceline/Kayak to see what airlines are flying to where you need to go then go through the airline's website.  Of all the times I've priced through those sites they come up with the same cost but maybe others have seen one of them price better than the other.  As someone else mentioned Southwest isn't on Expedia and one time that cost me a direct flight for what should have been a short flight and it was a nightmare after delays.  If you know there's a direct option for your flight and you don't see it on one of those sites then definitely check the airline websites directly.  I fly maybe 2-3x a year and in the last few years if I didn't fly direct I swear every time a connecting flight has been delayed so to me it's worth it to pay more and go direct.  I always heard that checking prices Tuesday/Wednesday was the best and the last few times we've done trips I've seen the cheapest prices mid-week but we price out months in advance while obviously the closer you get the less wiggle room price wise there may be.  

[swamp]

I am told by several frequent flyers is that booking 47 days before the flight is the best ticket price.

And travel Tuesday/wed to Tuesday/wed. It's definitely cheaper.

[Deleted]

I love TripAdvisor and have over 200 reviews myself.  Focus on the specific ones.  If I think the swimming pool is too small and the gym is overheated, you may not care.  The more reviews a reviewer has, in general, the more credible they are.  Sometimes a B&B will get a review from some bozo who expected Hilton treatment and just wants a place to vent.

I'm going more and more towards booking directly with hotels and airlines even though I feel guilty about using sites such as Orbitz to compare prices.  For hotels, especially if it's a "pay now, no refunds" rate, you probably won't get hotel loyalty points if you pay Orbitz.  And,a s noted by others, things can go wrong and it's better not to have another entity in the middle. I once had a hotel reservation made through Orbitz get cancelled almost immediately because the room got booked via the hotel site a nanosecond before.  Delta always seems to mess up seat assignments, especially when booked through a third party, and it's easier to resolve if you have only Delta to deal with.

[Happy prose]

Jan 16, 2017 14:38:29 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

I love TripAdvisor and have over 200 reviews myself.  Focus on the specific ones.  If I think the swimming pool is too small and the gym is overheated, you may not care.  The more reviews a reviewer has, in general, the more credible they are.  Sometimes a B&B will get a review from some bozo who expected Hilton treatment and just wants a place to vent.

I'm going more and more towards booking directly with hotels and airlines even though I feel guilty about using sites such as Orbitz to compare prices.  For hotels, especially if it's a "pay now, no refunds" rate, you probably won't get hotel loyalty points if you pay Orbitz.  And,a s noted by others, things can go wrong and it's better not to have another entity in the middle.

I use tripadvisor a lot for my cruises, as well as cruisecritic. Peop!e who travel love to tell about it, including myself!

[wvugurl26]

I used booking.com last August to get a room at the now Hilton in Myrtle Beach. They had their share of negative reviews though. I saved over $100 in prime season and was still able to get an oceanfront room. My rooms at the Vdara next month are booked through ticketsatwork's site. I'm saving $50+ a night on my rooms. You need a membership for that one though. Mine is through my school's alumni association.

All my flights are booked directly. I fly Southwest a lot though. I do use various search sites. I particularly like that so I can compare all of the DC region airports. For enough savings or non-stops, I'll deal with Reagan or Dulles. That hasn't happened yet though.

[NastyWoman]

Jan 16, 2017 14:38:29 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

I love TripAdvisor and have over 200 reviews myself.  Focus on the specific ones.  If I think the swimming pool is too small and the gym is overheated, you may not care.  The more reviews a reviewer has, in general, the more credible they are.  Sometimes a B&B will get a review from some bozo who expected Hilton treatment and just wants a place to vent.

I'm going more and more towards booking directly with hotels and airlines even though I feel guilty about using sites such as Orbitz to compare prices.  For hotels, especially if it's a "pay now, no refunds" rate, you probably won't get hotel loyalty points if you pay Orbitz.  And,a s noted by others, things can go wrong and it's better not to have another entity in the middle. I once had a hotel reservation made through Orbitz get cancelled almost immediately because the room got booked via the hotel site a nanosecond before.  Delta always seems to mess up seat assignments, especially when booked through a third party, and it's easier to resolve if you have only Delta to deal with.

I hate Delta and its "service". I swear if Asian companies were allowed to fly non-stop between the west coast and Europe I'd never set foot on a western company's plane again. Lowest price be damned and it's not like they are that much cheaper to begin with!

[Deleted]

So, I just booked my trip a couple weeks ago through Priceline, but then I went to the airlines sites to pick seats and choose luggage options.  The flights show up on Delta and Sun country just as if I'd booked through them and I'll check in on their site.   Do others do seats through the third party site? 

[NastyWoman]

Jan 16, 2017 15:57:49 GMT -5 @sroo4 said:

Jan 16, 2017 15:41:28 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

I hate Delta and its "service". I swear if Asian companies were allowed to fly non-stop between the west coast and Europe I'd never set foot on a western company's plane again. Lowest price be damned and it's not like they are that much cheaper to begin with!

I just realized that Delta changed their policy on their 'comfort +" seats or whatever they call them.  They now are a distinct fare class vs. being a coach add on.   Which means I can't book my coach ticket for work,  then go to the site and by the add on.   I'm really pissy about this,  because that was the only way I thought work flying was tolerable. 

Other than that I can't complain too much about Delta,  they seem to fly to all the places I want to go, and I find the Atlanta hub easy to get in and out of on time. 

They took over KLM and KLMs service went to hell (matched DELTA) but they are my best (only?) option for a non-stop flight to Amsterdam from SFO. Why oh why can't Sigapore Airlines offer that same flight, or Cathay Pacific, or ANA, or... 

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Jan 16, 2017 16:03:18 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

Jan 16, 2017 15:57:49 GMT -5 @sroo4 said:

I just realized that Delta changed their policy on their 'comfort +" seats or whatever they call them.  They now are a distinct fare class vs. being a coach add on.   Which means I can't book my coach ticket for work,  then go to the site and by the add on.   I'm really pissy about this,  because that was the only way I thought work flying was tolerable. 

Other than that I can't complain too much about Delta,  they seem to fly to all the places I want to go, and I find the Atlanta hub easy to get in and out of on time. 

They took over KLM and KLMs service went to hell (matched DELTA) but they are my best (only?) option for a non-stop flight to Amsterdam from SFO. Why oh why can't Sigapore Airlines offer that same flight, or Cathay Pacific, or ANA, or... 

Air France flies direct from Vancouver to Amsterdam.  Service was ok, but not near as good as Emirates.  I can get direct Seattle to Dubai on Emirates, but that is a butt numbing 14 hour flight.

[alabamagal]

Jan 16, 2017 12:22:48 GMT -5 Happy prose said:

Jan 16, 2017 12:21:51 GMT -5 oped said:

Where are you going?

Hollywood Beach FL, leaving from Newark airport.

Based on where you are going, I would definitely look at Southwest airlines.  They do not list their fares on any other sites.  They fly out of Newark and into Ft. Lauderdale (assume you would want to go there instead of Miami).

Also they have a feature on their site where you can put in your desitination and tell them what day you want to fly and they will post the fare by day.  This is great if you are flexible in your travel date.

Also they do not have charge for checking bags.

[taz157]

Jan 16, 2017 17:52:13 GMT -5 alabamagal said:

Jan 16, 2017 12:22:48 GMT -5 Happy prose said:

Hollywood Beach FL, leaving from Newark airport.

Based on where you are going, I would definitely look at Southwest airlines.  They do not list their fares on any other sites.  They fly out of Newark and into Ft. Lauderdale (assume you would want to go there instead of Miami).

Also they have a feature on their site where you can put in your desitination and tell them what day you want to fly and they will post the fare by day.  This is great if you are flexible in your travel date.

Also they do not have charge for checking bags.

I'd second that.

[Happy prose]

alabamagal Is that the airline that you don't get assigned seats? I remember a lady in work was once seperated from her kids, but I can't remember which airline.